Mesosaurus braziliensis, framed Spinosaurus The most abundant marine organisms

The most abundant marine organisms in the Mazon Creek biota are jellyfish

Recent research that examined the microscopic bone structure of the tall neural spines in edaphosaurids has raised doubts about a thermoregulatory role for the sail and suggests that a display function is more plausible

Eryops (pronounced EAR-ee-ops) (meaning "long eye" or "drawn-out eye" in Greek) was a common

had an oval outline

Mesosaurus braziliensis, framed Spinosaurus The most abundant marine organismsBeautiful plaque preserving a unique water dwelling early reptile form. Known from only South America and Africa, this distribution of Mesosaurus supports the understanding that these great continents were once joined together; Mesosaurus could easily swim rivers from one continent to another but salty oceans would have thwarted the freshwater creature from crossing an existing ocean. Mesosaurus sp. Early Permian (280 m. y. a.) Irati Formation Sao